Friday, November 9, 2007

Pakistan on Thursday charged three politicians and a trade union leader with treason for making speeches against President General Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule, court officials said.

The four were remanded in custody for two weeks by a court in Karachi, two days after they were arrested for criticising Gen Musharraf in addresses at the city's press club, they said.

Treason -- or sedition, as the activists have been formally charged with -- carries a maximum sentence of death.

The arrested men are Baloch nationalist leader Hasil Bizenjo, his party's provincial chief Ayub Qureshi, the vice-president of the National Workers Party, Yusuf Mustikhan, and trade union leader Liaquat Sahi.

The men were also accused of distributing pamphlets against the state of emergency declared by Gen Musharraf, police and Bizenjo's party spokesman Jan Buledi told AFP.

On Wednesday, Karachi police registered sedition cases against eight lawyers, including a woman, on charges of inciting people against the state of emergency. The lawyers have gone into hiding.

1 comment:

Some politicians DO deserve to be charged with treason for mortgaging the country for building huge bank balances in Switzerland and huge mansions abroad is treason.

If we look at it from different perspective, infact, whole of our ruling elites deserves to be awarded death sentence for committing treason against Pakistan for the intentions of this 2% ruking elite that includes people from bureaucracy, military, and politicians is just to loot Pakistan and take money away to foreign havens.